Is the circus a transformative experience, or just a bunch of tricks? Do clowns expose the foibles of the world, or just scare the bejeebuzz out of you? This one really exposes who Julie and I really are, but it's still a good debate. Enjoy.

With the rise in popularity of such immersive art exhibits as the Van Gogh Immersive Experience and the Immersive King Tut Exhibit, we wonder if they are really "art" or just a big money grab. And in the modicum of research we've done, the notion of what "immersive art" can be is surprisingly wide, weird, and wonderful. What do you think?

https://blooloop.com/technology/in-depth/immersive-art-experiences/

https://www.theartstory.org/movement/installation-art/

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/05/arts/design/immersive-art-exhibits.html

https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-silicon-valley/the-rise-and-rise-of-immersive-art

https://insights.masterworks.com/art/museums/the-rise-of-immersive-art-exhibitions/

We're trying something a little different this time! Julie and Mike have each chosen a new artist/concept/idea/art to present to each other to get their knee-jerk reactions. Julie brings to the table the artwork of Doreen Lynette Garner, aka King Cobra, aka @the_silcon_don (Instagram handle). King Cobra is an amazing silicon artist with a great deal to say. We highly suggest opening up her Instagram page while listening to the podcast. Mike then throws out the question "is worship a form of art?" Turns out this episode challenged us with some tough questions.

Can you separate the art from the artist? And does knowing the artist make the art better? Worse? We came to some interesting, if not surprising conclusions to these questions when we started our discussion about the masters Bob Ross and Thomas Kinkade. Would love to know what you think. Enjoy.

What's the relevance of artwork that uses the visual language of graphic design to make artistic statements in the age of constant internet usage of the same ? 80's artist Barbara Kruger made her career using essentially what we now refer to as memes to make her work. But does that work still mean anything when memes are everywhere? What makes her work different from the memes you see everyday? Heck, what makes a meme, anyway? Join us (and our special guest graphic designer Grace O'Brien ) as we unpack it all for your edification (but mostly for your entertainment). Live Laugh Love!

NYT article overview of Barbara Kruger’s work: https://www.wikiart.org/en/barbara-kruger

Barbara Kruger’s current large scale text-based exhibition: https://press.moma.org/exhibition/barbara-kruger/

This episode's topic: Musicals! Mike loves them. Julie hates them. But nonetheless, they have both seen a lot of them and have a lot of opinions. Most importantly, they want to know what makes certain musicals great, while some are just so.. not. By no means definitive, listen as they come to the table and talk all about old classics, new trends and future of The Great White Way!

BUT IS IT ART?